The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency on Thursday after the number of confirmed cases spiked
I think this was a good call on WHO's part. The public need to keep in mind though, that this was done for countries that do not have the ability to fight the illness like others do. It gives them more resources to better handle an outbreak, if it were to happen. It would be beneficial for the media to make that clear to prevent panic.
I find this article was an interesting read, but could have contained more information to help the general public better understand what is happening. I feel like people are becoming hysterical about the situation.